


Captain Cold Finds His Heart

by JunkFood



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:38:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7903417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JunkFood/pseuds/JunkFood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Cold's path to redemption.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A re-working of Season 1. The episode "Family of Rogues" and other elements from Season 2/LOT shamelessly exploited by the Author for convenience. In tribute to the TV show, there is no sequence to the seasons and it always seems to be raining.

Leonard Snart glanced at his rear view mirror and took in the pitiful state of his back-seat passenger.  He noted her messy pigtails and the dirty, stuffed bear that she clutched with a grip so tight it made the skin of her knuckles a pale shade of brown.  She looked worried but resigned to her fate.  Leonard returned his attention to the road, noted the heavy rainfall beating a steady staccato against the window shield and accordingly reduced his speed.  He wondered if he was doing the right thing- wondered if someone like him even had the capacity to change.  He had, perhaps, let his past define him for too long but, current questionable life-choices aside, he definitely was no hero.  Still, he was intrigued by the possibility that he could be- or rather _become_ something more than a very good, professional thief.  He had never cared much for following the rules, rules forced on him by an uncaring society that had failed him and his sister so spectacularly.  He had spent his entire life on the outskirts of society and the prospect of going _straight_ , in his method of employment anyway, was perhaps not possible for him.  Regardless of whether or not he _could_ change, he wasn’t yet convinced that he _wanted_ to change.  He had spent decades perfecting his skills and he loved the power that came with being able to steal whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. 

He took another look at his passenger- her head had lolled against the car window and even in sleep she wore a pained expression on her face.  He knew he was acting impulsively but he couldn’t seem to stop this potential train wreck.  _Well,_ Leonard mused, _sad little girls always were my weakness…._  


  
**6 months earlier**  
  
_Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond Exhibit Coming to Central City Museum!_  
  
Leonard unfolded the Central City Picture News and took a closer look at the article.  He had been following the diamond since it had left its permanent home at The Coast City Museum three months ago to go on tour.  The diamond was high profile and therefore not something he would usually steal, but his services had been engaged by a very wealthy foreign oligarch who was willing to pay handsomely for it.  _Too bad Mick and I aren’t on speaking terms_ , thought Leonard.  He really could have used Mick’s help on this job, or Lisa’s for that matter but she was busy with a job in Star City.  Instead, he was stuck with three guys he didn’t like and more importantly didn’t trust.  As his father had unfortunately learned with the Maximillian Emerald, easily-recognizable “hot” items were almost impossible to fence.  In order to not accidentally sell to an undercover cop, a buyer was usually lined up before the hot item was stolen.  Incidentally, the pay for such jobs was not as high as one would expect, as it was difficult to price “priceless” diamonds- a fact that, given their present heated conversation, seemed to escape the knuckleheads he had hired.  
  
“I’m jus’ sayin’ 100 g’s each seems pretty low for this job for all the risk man.  How much you gettin’ Snart?” asked Larry, 1/3 of Team Larry, Curly, and Moe as he had dubbed them.  
  
“You three were hired to provide support for this job and it’s not all that risky.  If you get caught, you may do 2 years for attempted armed robbery.  If you don’t, you get $100,000 each for about 182 seconds of work.  The Blackhawk Squad Security transport vehicle is on schedule to enter the city limits in about half an hour.  That’s when we’ll hit them.”  
  
“How do you know all of this, Snart?” asked Curley.  
  
“Get ready.  We’re leaving.”  Leonard was going to have to think of a nice gift/bribe to give Mick after this was all over.

  
*****

It was early Spring- a time of renewal, fresh starts, and the harsh realization that the love of his life was not only “just not that into him” but in love with someone who should have become a male model instead of a conscientious police officer.  _And’s he actually a nice guy!_ lamented Barry, thinking back to their workout session earlier that day when Eddie had shared with him his difficulties growing up.  Eddie was exactly the kind of guy he would hope Iris would pick, you know, if he were dead or transported to an alternate universe or just in a coma for 9 months….argh!  If he hadn’t been in a coma then Iris wouldn’t be dating Eddie but then he wouldn’t be the Flash nor would he have met Dr. Wells, Caitlin, and Cisco.  _Hmm….back to that alternate universe….that has potential….maybe if I asked Iris out before the coma then-“_  
  
“Earth to Barry.  Bear-bear, do you copy?”  Fantastical musing interrupted, he saw Joe West, his foster father and police colleague, wave a double-shot upside-down no whip extra hot caramel macchiato in front of his face.  Barry eagerly accepted his favorite beverage from CC Jitters.  
  
“Sorry Joe, just thinking about that last case.”  They were in Barry’s lab, where Barry was half-heartedly processing data and whole-heartedly hiding from Captain Singh.  
  
“Which is why that report you’re reviewing is upside down?”  Joe teasingly inquired.  
  
Busted!  “I’m, uh, trying to see if I can read upside down!”  
  
“I’m pretty sure super speed doesn’t grant you special upside down reading capabilities.  Well, I have something for you to look at.”  Joe dumped a huge binder on his desk.  “These are mug shots of Central City’s most wanted.  See if you can find the face of that guy you interrupted during the robbery.”  The red blur/streak/flash had interrupted an armed robbery attempt of the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond earlier that day.  Fortunately, one of the criminals lost his mask during their altercation.   
  
Barry quickly sped through the binder and pointed out the man to Joe.  “That’s the guy.”  
  
“Leonard Snart.  I’ll be damned.”  At Barry’s questioning look, Joe elaborated.  “He’s a professional thief, blows in and blows out of Central City about every 6 months and either takes some priceless artifact or robs a few banks.  The last time he was caught was over a decade ago and he ended up only doing about a year in Iron Heights.  Snart never leaves any evidence at his crime scenes and he knows the law inside and out- especially the laws that he breaks.”  
  
“How did he get caught the last time?”  Barry asked.  
  
“His father, Lewis Snart- the very definition of a crooked cop, wife-beater, and all around scumbag, rolled on him.  Lewis got caught using stolen cash to buy a car from a private seller.  The seller thought it was strange that Lewis paid for the $25,000 car with (25) $1000 bills given that the $1000 bill had been discontinued by the Federal Reserve earlier that year.  The seller took the money to the Special Investigations unit and they were able to trace the bills to a small credit union that had been held up around the time the Fed had announced the discontinuation of those bills.  Apparently they hadn’t been able to change out the bills before Lewis robbed them.  Anyhow, in exchange for a reduced sentence, Lewis gave testimony that his son Leonard was the mastermind behind the credit union robbery- despite all evidence pointing to Lewis.  Surprisingly, Leonard plead guilty to Conspiracy to Commit a Crime even though we were all pretty sure he had nothing to do with it.”  
  
“Why would he do that?”  
  
“Filial piety?  Hell, I don’t know.  He should have been in jail for dozens of other crimes he did commit so I’m pretty sure the DA wasn’t too bothered by it.  Besides, it kept him from harassing the citizens of Central City for at least a little while.”  
  
“And now he’s back.”  
  
“Bear, he’s been back for a long time.  Thanks to your alter-ego, we at least have a heads up.”  Joe grabbed his coat and started for the door.  “I’m going to go visit the museum and pass out a few of Snart’s mugshots.  Forewarned is forearmed.  You- however- need to process those saliva samples for me.  So get to it!”  
  
Barry smiled and answered, “Yes sir!”  His day may have been inadvertently ruined by a blonde Adonis but at least he could console himself that someone else’s day was ruined as well…..

 

*****

Leonard Snart tuned out the bickering of Larry, Curly and Moe and reviewed the armored vehicle’s security footage.  Someone- _something?_ – had shoved him off of truck just as he was about to snatch the diamond.  Leonard was only mildly annoyed; he would just have to steal the diamond directly from the Museum, which had always been his Plan B anyway.  Far more than being angry about the disruption, like his fellow thieves, he was _intrigued_.  He was also very unhappy that Larry, the Larry that was currently trying to commandeer his attention, had shot one of the guards.  
  
“I believe I told you all when you signed up for this job that we don’t shoot cops and we don’t shoot civilians, we don’t need the heat.”  Leonard pointedly told Larry.  
  
“The heat?”  Larry incredulously responded.  “What do you think The Blur is?  You know what Snart?  Screw this and screw you.  I’m out.”  Larry turned to leave.  
  
Leonard shot him in the back.  “Well, if you’re out, you’re out.”  He looked at Curly and Moe, who were visibly taken aback, and said, “This blur that you are so afraid of is a man.  And since he’s a man that means he can bleed.  We’re going to have to up our game.”  And Leonard knew precisely the man who could help him- arms dealer and all around creep Basil Nurblin.

  
*****

Further proving to Barry that he needed to dedicate his time to finding or causing an alternate universe, was the current hell he was trapped in- a “double-date” that Felicity Smoak, on loan from Oliver, forced him to go on with her, Iris and Eddie.  Barry was convinced that hell was not an overly warm place with fire and brimstone- hell was on Earth, right here in Jitters on quiz night, in the form of being subjected to the love of his life making excuses for her stupid boyfriend and taking every opportunity to kiss him.  It was slow, saccharine torture.  Barry was hoping that The Blur would be needed post haste- he didn’t care if it was to rescue someone’s kitten- he would do anything to escape!  Barry was mentally reviewing all of the lame excuses he had in his repertoire with the plan of spending the evening watching bad 80’s martial arts flicks with Cisco when Eddie got an “all hands” call from the dispatch.  Leonard Snart had made his move.  
  
Barry forced Felicity to come up with a lame excuse for him and ran in the general direction of police sirens.  He spotted Joe, weapon drawn, entering the Orpheum Theater and was just in time to push him out of the way of Snart’s line of fire.  For his efforts, he received a chest-full of a strange, burning substance.  Breath knocked out of him, he took cover and yelled to Joe “What the hell was that?”   
  
Before Joe could answer Barry was back on his feet saving innocent bystanders whom Snart had indiscriminately started shooting his strange weapon at.  Snart was wearing tinted goggles, the purpose of which was not obvious to Barry.  Saving all of the theater-goers from the strange weapon stretched his abilities to the max- the gun appeared to exceed the rate of fire of the fastest weapons the military had to offer and it emitted some kind of substance that froze any surface it came in contact with.  Barry stopped to catch his breath again- his chest hurt like hell.  He saw Snart target a theater usher and rushed towards the man.  He was within inches of pushing the man to safety but Snart’s weapon was faster- Barry watched helplessly as the theater usher appeared to freeze to death instantaneously.  
  
“Noooooo!” Barry yelled.  But it didn’t matter.  The man was  gone, his open mouth frozen in a scream.  Barry was so shocked that he hadn’t been able to save everyone that he hadn’t noticed that Snart had escaped.  He hurt- his body, his heart, and his soul.  Earlier in the day he had fancifully hoped for an alternate universe where he was Iris’ boyfriend.  Now he would give anything for an alternate universe where he had been fast enough to save this poor man.

  
*****

His day had started out rather well with a visit to Basil, who hadn’t disappointed.  It was too bad he had to kill the man but Leonard had received a tip from one of his well-paid moles in the police department that the Special Investigations unit was closing in on Basil’s operations and the warehouse he operated out of would be raided sooner rather than later.  Leonard was 100% certain that Basil would give him up to the police as part of a plea bargain.  Basil had shown him two very unique weapons: a “cold gun” with the capacity to slow things down (including possibly the blur) and a “heat gun”, which really just seemed to be a portable flamethrower.  He ended up taking both weapons- if he ever decided to reconcile with Mick, the heat gun would make an excellent peace offering.

Next Leonard needed to do some further reconnaissance at the Central City Museum.  Curley and Moe had already skipped town so he was on his own.  Fortunately, Plan B to recover the diamond didn’t require any more personnel than one highly capable thief.  Unfortunately, Plan B didn’t account for a meddlesome red blur so now he would have to come up with a Plan C.  
  
His reconnaissance of the museum had been going well up until the point when he had been spotted by CCPD and that’s when his day got significantly worse.  On the one hand he had been able to test the cold gun against The Blur and was now satisfied that the gun put him and The Blur on more equal footing.  On the other hand he had killed an innocent civilian- something he promised himself he would never do.  
  
_Well, the blur made me do it,_ Leonard rationalized _.  Made me up my game.  If anyone else dies, it’s on his hands._

*****

 _What a day,_ reminisced Barry.  It was 2am and he was resting in the med wing of Star Labs.  After learning from a contrite Cisco about the full capabilities of the cold gun that Snart had somehow stolen from Star Labs, Barry had to chase after the man and try to recover the diamond he had stolen.  Snart hadn’t even been subtle about the theft- he had just waltzed right into the museum and waltzed right out with the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond.  That should have been Barry’s first clue that Snart had a trick up his sleeve.  Hopping on a commuter train and using the cold gun to derail it was an effective way for Snart to make his grand escape.  After successfully rescuing all of the passengers, Barry had been surprised by Snart and took a chest-full of the cold gun, again.  It seemed that the man had stuck around in order to _talk_ with him.  They had a surreal exchange where Snart actually _thanked_ him for forcing him to “up his game”.  Barry was relieved when Cisco, Caitlin and Felicity had shown up, forcing Snart to walk away.  Barry had a feeling that he would be running into Snart again very, very soon.  And the next time Snart – no, _Captain Cold_ \- dared to pull another heist; the Flash was going to put him away.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard wondered if he were obsessed- Mick certainly seemed to think so.  He was glad his little sister was still in Star City, he was pretty sure she would have a lot to say about his fixation on the newly monikered _Flash_.  Leonard hadn’t pursued anyone this fervently since Bobby Mills when they were in the 7 th grade.  He vividly remembered confessing his feelings to Bobby behind the middle school lockers.  Bobby played guitar so Leonard had hand-decorated a few guitar picks to give to him as a token of his affection.  That incident probably should have ended a lot more tragically than it did, with Leonard being ostracized from his classmates and bullied and et cetera.  Instead, Bobby thanked Leonard for his thoughtfulness but informed him very sincerely that he was _regrettably_ not gay.  Over two decades later and it was still the nicest rejection Leonard had ever received.  Bobby never told any of their classmates that Leonard was gay and he even used the picks that Leonard made for him when he and his band practiced- because Bobby was a good guy with a kind heart who knew that Leonard came from a broken home and so brought extra sandwiches for them to both eat during lunchtime.  
  
“God you’re beautiful,” Mick said to the open flame emerging from his lighter.  _Great, Mick was playing with fire again!_  
  
“Mick, focus up.  I have a new job for us.”  
  
“I hope it’s more profitable than breaking and entering and then not stealing anything like the last job,” Mick sarcastically said in reference to them breaking into a classic car garage and leaving empty-handed after the Flash had failed to show.  
  
“We’re going to steal a painting that was recently purchased for $25 million dollars by one of the richest couples in Central City- the Rathaway’s.  They are returning tonight from Paris via private jet with the painting.”  
  
“You have a buyer lined up?”  
  
“Not yet but I will.”  Mick grunted in response.  Leonard was only half-interested in the painting but he was fully interested in forcing the Flash to show up again.  A showy and full on assault on the Rathaway’s should get the kid’s attention.  
  
  
**5 hours later**  
  
Leonard was so disappointed by the evening’s events that he wasn’t much bothered when Mick melted the stolen painting with his heat gun.  The Flash hadn’t shown up to stop him.  Leonard targeted the Rathaway’s because he had read in a gossip column that they had disowned their only son when he had come out as gay.  The painting was most likely insured so the couple probably wouldn’t lose any money but at least they wouldn’t have a pretentious painting to show off at cocktail parties.  Leonard viewed it as karmic retribution.  
  
Grand larceny didn’t seem to be enough to flush the Flash out but maybe a kidnapping would, Leonard mused.  Although the Flash wore a mask, his friends certainly didn’t.  Leonard had gotten a good look at the trio when they had interrupted his encounter with the Flash after Leonard had derailed the commuter train.  He still wasn’t sure who the blonde was but the Hispanic kid, who had named him “Captain Cold”, was Cisco Ramon, Lead (now only) Mechanical Engineer at Star Labs and the well-dressed brunette was Dr. Caitlin Snow, Sr. Bio-Engineer also at Star Labs.  Snow was likely the easier mark- hopefully she’d be enough motivation for the Flash to show himself again.

*****

Joe’s attention was momentarily caught by the local television news report detailing the successful arrests of “Captain Cold” and “Heatwave”, as well as giving an accounting of the damage the two had caused in their fight with the Flash the previous evening.  Snart and his partner Mick Rory had grabbed Caitlin and held her hostage in exchange for a showdown with the Flash.  It was one thing for Snart to come after the Flash, which was to be expected.  Involving Barry’s friends had escalated their cat-and-mouse game to a whole new level.  The Flash was forced to show himself and fight both Captain Cold and Heatwave at once.  Fortunately, he was able to trick them into crossing the streams of their respective guns cancelling their powers out.  It had been a big win for the CCPD but Joe could tell by Barry’s funerary countenance that he had already forgotten and was focused on Iris’ departure.

Joe fought back his emotions when he bid his daughter and Det. Thawne goodbye.  Both Iris and Barry had lived at home during college and Barry had only very recently found his own place.  Joe wasn’t sure how he felt about having the whole house to himself.  He hadn’t been happy when he had found out Thawne was dating his daughter and he had been tempted to forbid her to move in with him, but she was a grown woman and he had sheltered her, ok _smothered_ her, for far too long.  She needed to show some independence and gain some maturity and this latest move was at least a step in the right direction- even if it was with Thawne.

Joe surveyed the disaster-area that Iris had left his living room.  Barry was slouched on the couch, distractedly drinking the beer Joe had given him.  As hard as this was for Joe, he knew it was a thousand times harder for Barry.  He hadn’t raised Barry and Iris with good boundaries- which is how he ended up with one frighteningly mature, lovesick foster son and one sweet but extremely spoiled and oblivious daughter.  Barry had had a crush on Iris for as long as Joe could remember- but it didn’t seem to be reciprocated.  Joe often wondered if they would be together if he hadn’t raised them both under the same roof but it was far too late to do anything about it now- it wasn’t like he could go back in time and prevent Nora Allen’s death.

“You ok?” Joe sat next to Barry on the couch.  
  
Barry noncommittedly grunted.  
  
“Wanna order some pizza and watch the ball game,” Joe asked.  
  
“Make it pizzas and you’re on.”  These days, the promise of food was guaranteed to perk Barry up.  Joe laughed and looked at his foster son thoughtfully.  It was past time that he addressed the elephant in the room.    
  
“Barry, I know this is an uncomfortable subject for you but we need to talk about Iris.  Specifically your 15+ year crush on her.”  
  
Barry groaned.  “Joe, we really don’t need to talk about it.  I snoozed – literally if you recall that I was in a coma for 9 months – and now detective pretty boy has her.  End of story.”  
  
“Bear, we both know you haven’t given up on her.  And she’s not as clueless as you think.”  
  
“You’re saying that if she wanted to be with me she’d have made it happen?” Barry forlornly inquired.  
  
Joe winced.  “Well, I hate to point this out to you but you may have noticed she seems to have a _type_.”  
  
“You mean blonde, blue-eyed, and buff?  You should have seen her when Oliver Queen stopped by at Jitters; I had to practically wipe up her drool!”  
  
Joe suppressed a chuckle.  “Look, this may seem kind of odd coming from her father, but Iris, despite her good heart and strong will, has a lot of faults.  Faults you don’t seem to see.  I’m hoping her moving in with Eddie will help both of you grow up and more importantly make you move on.”  
  
“You sound like Caitlin and Cisco.”   
  
“Well, maybe you should listen to them.  They are your friends.”  
  
“Aren’t you going to be lonely here all by yourself?”  Barry asked, changing the subject.  
  
“I don’t know why you ever moved out seeing as you have a perfectly good room here.”  Joe pointed out to him.  
  
“You said you were going to turn it into a gym.”  
  
“We both know I’m not turning it into a gym.”  
  
“You’re right.  I should totally move back in.  I mean, I am a millennial that is what we do,” said Barry.  
  
“I suppose it would be easier if you lived here.  I could keep tabs on the Flash,” mused Joe.  
  
“So…that’s a yes?”  
  
“That’s a yes.  Go get your stuff and I’ll place an order for pizzas, plural.”  
  
Barry finished moving and unpacking all of his stuff just before the pizzas arrived.  



	3. Chapter 3

Escaping the transport vehicle headed for Iron Heights was easy.  Taking out the head of the Santini family and taking over their operations was even easier.  Now he and Mick just needed their weaponry back and then the _real fun_ could start.  His initial plan had been to simply to steal their weapons back from the police, who had confiscated them after their arrest.  Unfortunately, none of his intel showed that the guns were still in police lockup.  He suspected that they were returned to Star Labs.  Although stealing them back from Star Labs wouldn’t be too difficult, Leonard figured that the lab likely served as a base of operations for the Flash and he really didn’t want to face him again without the Cold Gun.  
  
This led him to Cisco Ramon.  Leonard was willing to bet the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond that Cisco had invented both the cold gun and the heat gun.  He simply needed Cisco and a list of materials in order to get the weapons re-made.  Luring Cisco to the Santini’s former base of operations would be easy- he had the perfect bait in the form of his sister.  Lisa had tailed Cisco for a week and reported his movements to Leonard.  His daily activities were rather predictable.  His jam-packed scheduled consisted of going home, going to work, and going to hang out with Dr. Snow and some other preppy-looking kid at the local coffee shop.  Leonard was something of a homebody but even he found Cisco’s routine rather pathetic.  
  
“Well, what do you think?” asked Lisa, twirling a strand of blonde hair from the wig she was wearing.  
  
“I like the t-shirt.  Good thinking.”  Lisa was wearing a t-shirt with a design of an exploding Erlenmeyer flask that said: Forget Lab Safety – I Want Super Powers!  
  
She gave Leonard a hug and started towards the door.  
  
“Don’t forget curfew is 11pm,” Leonard called after her.  
  
She smirked and flipped him the bird as she exited the house.  
  
Now it was Mick’s turn to deliver.  Leonard had just received a text that he had Cisco’s brother in the trunk of his car.  _All according to the plan._

*****

Lisa felt bad for Cisco.  She had clearly made his evening (their respective geeky t-shirts were a great conversation starter and it was fun talking with someone who had seen almost as many 80’s martial arts films as she had) and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.  A guy who wouldn’t be caught dead dating the _real_ Lisa Snart- a girl who was not a Structural Engineer but rather a girl who had barely obtained her GED (and only because her brother had made her) and made a living knocking over banks and being an all-around con artist.  _That_ girl was somebody that Cisco Ramon would never date.  The look of revulsion on Cisco’s face once he learned who she really was- well, it wasn’t something that she would soon forget.  Cisco’s brother Dante, on the other hand, was kind of a useless dick.  She would be glad when Lenny released them both- she didn’t want to think about what could have been.  
  
She took the curved freeway exit ramp a bit too fast, which earned her a muttered “pay attention to the road” from her brother.  She and Lenny were on their way back from a shootout at Frank Santini’s casino.  Lenny had wanted to take out the Santini family for a long time.  She wasn’t entirely sure what his beef was with them but she really enjoyed shooting the place up with her newly-made gold gun, courtesy of Cisco.  She had instructed him to make her something “pretty and toxic” and, oh boy, had he delivered.  Unfortunately the Flash had shown up so they weren’t able to make off with any loot.  
  
“So are we going to let Cisco and Dante go when we get back?” she asked her brother, who appeared to be deep in thought.  
  
“Not yet.  I want to know who the Flash _really_ is.  He’s meddled one time too many.”  
  
“Fine, but leave me out of it.”  
  
Lenny gave her a sharp look.  “Don’t tell me you fell for that nerd.”  
  
“I didn’t,” she quickly protested.  “I just want this to be over.  Lenny did you ever-” she stopped in order to compose herself.  “Do you ever think that maybe we could do something else with our lives?  You know, besides hurt people.”  
  
“No.”  
  
Well, she had her answer.  Maybe it was time to make an extended visit to Star City.

*****

Leonard had perhaps been a bit too vicious in compelling Cisco to give up the Flash’s identity.  His conversation with Lisa on the way back from the Santini casino bothered him more than he cared to admit.  After using the cold gun on Dante’s hands, Cisco was quick to talk.  Leonard wasn’t terribly surprised when Cisco gave him the name ‘Barry Allen’.  Leonard knew the name from his surveillance of Snow and Cisco- he was the CCPD CSI who usually hung out with them at Jitters so Leonard wasn’t much surprised at the connection.  He was, however, much more interested in learning the extent of Barry’s powers but he would have to interrogate Cisco some other time.  Lisa had made him drop Cisco and Dante off at the nearest hospital before they left to intercept the Santini bullion transport vehicle.  They were on the interstate between Central City and Star City and rapidly gaining on the Santini’s.  He had just given the signal to Mick to use the heat gun on the truck’s tires when he had what could only be described as something akin to an out-of-body experience.  He became aware of his surroundings moments later and realized that he was well outside the city limits- and that he was facing a very angry Flash, or rather Barry Allen.    
  
“Good to see you, Barry.”  Leonard unfastened his motorcycle helmet and removed his goggles.  
  
“We need to talk.  I know Cisco told you who I am.”  
  
“You can’t really blame the kid.  I put him in a tight spot.  The same kind I’ve got you in.  Can’t really stop me, now that I know who you are.”  
  
“Really?” Barry crossed his arms.  “And what’s to stop me from whisking you away to my own, private prison?”  
  
“You have one of those?” Leonard called his bluff.  “An email is scheduled to go out at 2am tonight to all of Central City’s major news publications with your full name unless I’m safe at home to stop it.”  
  
“I’ll just deny that it’s me.”  
  
“You could.  Unfortunately for you I was able to obtain your medical records from your convalescence at Star Labs.  I’m not a doctor, but it’s pretty damning.  So, the million dollar question:  What to do with me now, Barry Allen?”  
  
The kid sighed and ran his hands through his hair.  “I won’t let you keep stealing whatever you want whenever you want.  It needs to stop.”  
  
“Can’t do that, it’s what I do.”  
  
“Then do it somewhere else.”  
  
“Can’t do that either.”  Leonard took a deep breath and gestured to their wooded surroundings.  “I love it here.  This city is my home.”  
  
“Then find another line of work.”  
  
“Don’t want to.”  
  
“Why’s that?”  
  
“Come now Barry, surely you can’t be that dense?  It’s for the same reason that you run after guys like me- the adrenaline, the thrill of the chase.  I love this game and I’m _very_ good at it.”  
  
“So this game you’re so fond of includes orphaning young girls?”  
  
Ok, that threw Leonard for a loop.  “What are you talking about?”  
  
“That theater usher you murdered- you orphaned his little girl.  Her name’s Faith Evans.  Joe volunteered to inform the next of kin, except she didn’t have any next of kin so she was picked up by Child Services and is no doubt being shuffled around in the foster system as we speak.”    
  
It was very rare that Leonard was at a loss for words.  
  
Barry pressed on.  “What the hell happened?  I know you have a rule to leave cops and civilians alone- you, what, suspended it that night?!”  
  
Leonard was getting angry.  “You, or rather the Flash, happened.  I told you that you forced me to up my game.”  
  
“So it’s my fault that you killed him?”  
  
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”  
  
“You are unbelievable Snart!  Truly unbelievable.  Fine, you’ve seen what I can do and you know that I can stop you.  You want to keep pushing your luck?  Go for it.  But from here on out, no one else dies.  If you’re as good as you say you are, then you don’t have to kill anyone to get what you want.”  
  
The kid was smart to appeal to his ego.  “That’s true.”  
  
“And if you, or anyone in your _Rogues Gallery_ goes near any of my friends or family again I don’t care who you tell my identity to- I’m putting you away.”  
  
“I guess your secret’s safe, Flash, _for now_.”  Barry put his mask back on.  “Oh, I uh, don’t suppose you would give me a ride back to town?” Leonard inquired.  Barry smirked at him and whooshed away in a, well, flash.  “The _Rogues_?  Cute…” muttered Leonard to himself.  



	4. Chapter 4

Leonard always found Central City’s skyline to be soothing, which was why he was brooding at his favorite safe house- a fancy penthouse apartment overlooking the city park.  Not even Lisa or Mick knew about this place.  It was rather large for just him- 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms - but Leonard really liked the walk-in closet in the master bedroom and the floor to ceiling glass windows in the living room.  Lisa was still mad at him and Mick was, well he wasn’t sure where Mick was but Leonard wasn’t going to worry about him unless he heard fire engines.  He had scoured all of the newspapers and obituaries to find out more about “Faith Anh Evans” and listed out on legal pad what he knew about her, which wasn’t much:  
\- 8 years old, in 3rd grade  
\- won middle school science fair, beating out 4th & 5th graders  
\- Mom immigrant from Vietnam, met Dad at local church -> married shortly thereafter  
\- Mom killed by a drunk driver 4 years ago  
\- Dad worked 2 jobs and was studying for his BS in IT Administration: day job in IT at St. Andrews Hospital / evening job as theater usher for supplemental income and free theater tickets  
  
He, or rather Len Smith, had an appointment with Faith’s social worker tomorrow.  He wasn’t sure what he hoped to accomplish with this.  He had set up the visit under the auspices of being a wealthy rare antiquities dealer who had heard of the sad tale and wanted to donate funds for her care.  The funny thing was his “cover” was mostly true.  Granted he was more of a specialist in illegal acquisitions but he was indeed very wealthy.  He could have comfortably retired years ago but what he had said to the Flash was also true, he loved the rush he got from heists- the more risky a job, the better.  He wished he had steered Lisa in a different direction, but it would have been hypocritical of him to prevent her from joining the family business.  Occasionally, usually when a job went wrong, he fancifully wondered what he would be doing now if his father hadn’t forced him into a life of crime.  He truly could not think of being anything other than what he was, a cold-blooded criminal.

*****

Eddie had proposed to Iris.  She had accepted.  When Barry found out, he finally confessed his feelings to her hoping that it might change things.  His confession changed things alright- now Iris wouldn’t talk to him and they had a bitter fight where he accused her of toying with his feelings and she accused him of being selfish and not wanting her to be happy.  His world was officially coming to an end and he wanted a do-over.   
  
“Bear,” Joe set his favorite drink from Jitters in front of him.  “I know what you’re thinking.”  
  
Morosely, with his chin propped up by his crossed arms, Barry replied, “No, you don’t.”  
  
“You’re thinking, _my world is coming to an end_.”  
  
“I see why you became a detective.  Your observational powers are peerless.”  
  
“Well, a lot can happen in a year,” said Joe.  Eddie and Iris had set their wedding tentatively for next year.  
  
“Are you actively hoping that one of them will call it off?” Barry asked incredulously.  
  
“They’re both very young.  Detective Thawne, Eddie, seems committed; Iris I’m not so sure.”  
  
“If you’re just saying that to make me feel better, well don’t.  If their engagement falls apart, I’m sure Iris will blame me!” Barry bitterly said.  
  
“Cheer up Bear.  No one knows the future.  Changing the subject, how did your date with Linda go?”  
  
“It was good.  I’m seeing her again this weekend.”  Oh and wasn’t that going to be a potential disaster.  Linda moved fast, too fast for even the Flash.  For their last “date”, they had foregone Barry’s meticulously-planned evening to make out on the couch.  It was extremely fortunate that “work” called as Barry had started to physically _vibrate_ when it got intimate between them.  It was times like this that he wished he could talk to his father outside of prison.  He didn’t feel comfortable discussing his performance issues with Joe or Caitlin and he really could use his father’s advice and medical knowledge.  He was going to have to be very, very careful with Linda the next time- it wouldn’t do to have someone who worked at a newspaper learn his secret identity.

*****

After his father had gone to jail and his mother found solace at the bottom of a bottle, Leonard had interacted with Child Protective Services more than a few times in his adolescence.  It had been a prelude to his involuntary interactions with the Juvenile Delinquency Department.  CPS was understaffed and underfunded when _he_ was a kid and judging by his visit today the only change was for the worst.  Faith’s case worker seemed like a good person but she was naïve and totally bought his “philanthropist” act.  She gave him the address of Faith’s foster home without doing any due diligence on him or his story.  It was amazing what he could get away with wearing a tailored suit and a fancy tie.  He was tempted to anonymously report her, but after watching her calm down a homeless teen high on PCP he gave her the benefit of the doubt.   
  
He was currently parked about half a block away from Faith’s house.  The neighborhood reminded him of his lower-middle class neighborhood growing up- before his father was sent to jail and his mother lost their house.  He had a good view of the sorry state of yard and saw a harried-looking woman on her cell phone hurriedly get into her car and drive off.  He exited his car and slowly made his way to the house, taking in all of the vehicles parked on the street and noting dog barks and which general direction they came from.  _Old habits die hard_ , Leonard mused.  He took the three steps to the porch in one stride and rang the doorbell.  A few shouts and an uneven footsteps later, a surly-looking teenager opened the door.  
  
“What do you want?”  
  
“I, um, I’m here to speak with Faith Evans.  Is she in?”  
  
The kid didn’t bother to answer him, just yelled FAITHHHHHH, and walked off leaving the door wide open.  A few minutes later, a sad-looking little girl with mocha skin and thick, jet-black hair in sloppy pigtails came to the door.  “Are you Faith Evans?” Leonard asked.  She nodded her head.  Leonard crouched down on one knee so he could look her in the eyes.  “I knew your father.”  She looked at him suspiciously.  Leonard started to continue but was interrupted by a piercing wail in the background.  “Um, is there somewhere quieter we can talk?” he asked her.  
  
“There’s a community playground nearby,” she offered.  
  
“Ok, that sounds good.”  He offered her his hand.  She hesitated, which he internally commended her for, but then intertwined her fingers with his.  It was a bit chilly out and Leonard was wearing gloves, he was alarmed that she was not.  Once they got to the playground, which was empty and derelict, Leonard sat next to her on the double-swing set and pushed her with one hand.  
  
“So, how did you know my Daddy?”  
  
Leonard had a lie all prepared about he was a regular theater attendee and had often spoken to her father before plays.  He wasn’t sure who was more surprised- him or Faith when he blurted out the truth: “I’m the one who killed him.”  
  
She put her feet down in the sand to stop the motion of the swing and looked at him with naked fear on her face.  “So you’ve come to finish the job?” she asked, her voice quivering.  
  
“No!” Leonard shouted, and then looked around to make sure they were still alone.  “No,” he said in a quieter voice.  “I, uh, don’t hurt kids and I guess I felt bad about, uh, _accidentally_ killing your father so I wanted to see you.”  
  
“You’re Captain Cold, aren’t you?  You’re not what I imagined in my nightmares.  I expected you to look more evil.”  
  
“Well, uh, thanks, I guess.”  She picked up her feet which Leonard took as permission to continue pushing her.  
  
“Why’d you kill my daddy?”  
  
“It was an accident.  I was fighting with the Flash and I guess things got out of control.”  She shook her head and didn’t respond.  “When you grow up, if you still feel bad about it-” Leonard struggled to find the right words,” I’ll be ready to face your brand of justice.”  
  
This seemed to infuriate her and she angrily jumped off of the swing.  “Are you for real mister?!” she shouted.  “Do you think this is some kind of crappy kung-fu flick?  I’m gonna, what, join ass-kicking shaolin monks and train for decades only to come after you for vengeance when you’re an old man?!”  Red-faced, she stopped to catch her breath.  
  
“No- I didn’t mean it that way.  I, uh, I don’t know what I’m doing here.”  
  
“Well that’s just great mister.  You do what you need to do, since you’re feeling guilty.  Me, I’m going home.  Brenda, that’s my ditzy foster mother, is making ravioli and it’s the only meal she can make worth eating.”  She dusted off her thin jacket and ran in the direction of her home.  
  
Leonard rocked back and forth in his swing for a few minutes.  He idly wished for an alternate universe where the Flash had succeeded in saving the theater usher from him.

*****

Ms. Rios, Faith’s case worker, looked at Leonard, or rather Len Smith, with open suspicion.  _Well it’s about time,_ thought Leonard.  
  
“Let me get this straight.  You’re a 38 year old single man who wants to adopt a girl he’s met once because, and I quote, you ‘have a connection’.  You’ll excuse me if I find that difficult to believe.”  
  
Leonard put on his most harmless smile.  “Does it help that I’m a homosexual?”  
  
“No!  No it doesn’t!”  
  
“Well, I am.”  
  
“Fine, so maybe you’re not a child molester but that doesn’t mean you have pure intentions.  And what, may I ask, are your qualifications for taking care of anything more than a goldfish?”  
  
“I am imminently qualified to care for young girls because I took care of my younger sister.  There’s a 12 year age difference between us.  My father was away a lot…on business and my mother was an alcoholic.  I practically raised my sister from age 8 on- the same age as Faith is now.”  Leonard could see her softening towards him.  
  
“Why Faith then?” asked Ms. Rios.  
  
The truth would only get him so far.  “We do have a connection.  I was _friendly_ with her father, if you catch my drift.”  Her eyes widened.  She was definitely buying what he was selling.  “So I guess you could say that I feel that I owe it to him to make sure his daughter is taken care of.”  That part at least was true.  
  
She shuffled the papers in front of her for several minutes and then seemed to come to a conclusion.  “Your assets are substantial and your references are impeccable.  I am satisfied that you are able to provide for Faith financially.  Her current foster parents are overwhelmed so I will give you _provisionary_ guardianship with a path to adoption.  And I _will_ be making scheduled and unscheduled house calls.  If Faith tells me that anything about you is not on the up and up, I will have you prosecuted.”  
  
Leonard smiled.  “Sounds like a fair exchange.”

*****

When Leonard picked Faith up from her foster home he half expected her to give him up.  He guessed that her curiosity overruled her common sense- either that or she was tired of her foster siblings.  Leonard was tired of them and he had only suffered their barely controlled chaos when Mrs. Schiff, _call me Brenda_ , forced him to have coffee with her.  Faith had promptly fallen asleep when he settled her and her one small duffle bag in the back seat of his SUV.  It wasn’t until they got to the penthouse that she perked up.  
  
“Wow, I guess crime really does pay!” she exclaimed, taking in her surroundings.  Leonard’s apartment was ultra-modern, furnished in neutrals and cold metallic colors and admittedly rather austere.  He had a feeling this would change with Faith’s arrival.  
  
“Faith,” he called out to her.  “Come back.  Shoes come off at the entryway.”  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
“Seriously.  Just think where your boots have been all day,” he quirked an eyebrow at her.  
  
Her hands covered her mouth.  “Oh my gosh!  You’re one of those OCD guys they show on Intervention!”  
  
“I am not.  I just like things clean and orderly.”  Growing up in a filthy home had a way of doing that to a person.  Leonard took off his shoes and stacked them in the entry-way closet that he had converted to a shoe rack for this purpose.  He grabbed pink bunny slippers he had purchased and waved them at her.  “Aren’t these cute?”  
  
She folded her arms and petulantly replied, “No.  I like dinosaurs.”  
  
Leonard closed his eyes and counted to ten.  “Noted.  If we’re going to live together there will be some house rules.  Rule #1 is that shoes are taken off in the entryway.”  
  
“Do I get to write some of these rules?”  
  
“You can petition the rule-maker which is me.  Now put these slippers on and I’ll make you some hot cocoa.”  
  
“With marshmallows?” she excitedly asked.  
  
“Cocoa isn’t cocoa without the mini-marshmallows.”  
  
Leonard put a tea kettle on the stove and started a fire in the living room.  He lifted Grace up so she could sit on the high barstools he had facing his kitchen while he prepared their drinks.  His beverage was definitely going to have a splash of liquor.  
  
“So, _Len,_ why are you taking care of me?”  
  
“I told you that I regret what I did to your father.  I can’t bring him back but I can make sure you are fed and taken care of.  If you don’t like this arrangement, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, I’ll set up a trust fund for you and Ms. Rios and the foster care system will take care of you.”  
  
“So I’ll have money but I’ll be at the mercy of the system.”  Leonard nodded.  “I’ll take my chances with you, _for now_.  I don’t think I can ever forgive you for what you did but at least your place is _quiet_.”  
  
Leonard laughed.  “It is.”  Leonard thought back to Ms. Rios’ earlier threat and sobered up.  “Look, Faith, if this is going to work nobody can know who I really am.”  
  
“You mean Captain Cold?” she asked.  Leonard nodded.  “So, what, you’re going to rob ATM’s and fight with the Flash in between PTA meetings?”  
  
She brought up something he had been wondering himself.  “I’m taking a small break from my exciting, albeit illegal, activities until you get settled.”  
  
She rolled her eyes at him and tried to stifle a yawn.  
  
“Come on,” he lifted her off of the bar stool.  “We have a big day tomorrow.”  
  
“Doing what?”  
  
“We have an appointment with Mrs. Chen at _Lord & Marcus _to get you some new clothes.  Then, we have a meeting here with an interior designer to go over furnishings for your room.”  Leonard rifled through her duffle bag and located her pajamas, which he motioned her to take.  
  
“Don’t I have to go to school?”   
  
“Ms. Rios is giving you a week to settle in.  But you’re not going back to your regular school.  I have an appointment later this week to see if we can get you into _Bovine McFeely Prep_.”  He ushered her towards the bathroom.  
  
“Bovine Prep?  Isn’t that the top school in the city?  Even famous rich people can’t get their kids into that school!”   
  
“Have a little faith, Faith.  You’ll get in.  I’ll make sure of it.”

*****

The admittance officer, or rather the _Scholastic Consultant_ , had a very nice waiting room.  He had arrived early for his appointment with Mr. Prik (pronounced _pre-kuh_ according to his secretary) and reminisced about his unusual week.  Mrs. Chen had picked out a full wardrobe for Faith with Leonard’s assistance- he didn’t want Faith to turn out like Lisa, who thought that the only color worth wearing was black.  To his dismay, her favorite color turned out to be red.  She chose a red cape and red galoshes to wear when they left the high-end department store.  Leonard wasn’t convinced that it was a good look for her but outright warring with Lisa had made her pick trashier clothing just to spite him so he was going to take a subtler approach with Faith.  After lunch at a fancy rooftop café, which had really impressed Faith, they met with Mr. Talbot who, together with Faith and Leonard, picked out new drapes, furniture and bedding for Faith’s room, all dinosaur-themed.  Leonard made a mental note to get them a membership at the Natural History Museum.  Mr. Talbot convinced Leonard to hire a painter to draw a prehistoric mural on the bedroom walls but Leonard drew the line at a faux wooly mammoth rug Faith had wanted.   
  
“Mr. Smith?” the secretary called out to him.  “Mr. Prik will see you now.”  
  
Leonard entered the adjoining room and was greeted by Mr. Prik who led him to a comfortable chair in front of his desk.  Framed, front and center behind Mr. Prik’s desk, were six diplomas, which was impressive as Mr. Prik didn’t seem to be all the much older than him.  He took Faith’s application from the secretary, shut the door, and sat on the edge of his desk facing Leonard.  
  
“Mr. Smith, Len- may I call you that?”  Leonard nodded; his most winning and agreeable smile firmly in place.  “I’ve reviewed Faith’s application for our exclusive school.  As you know, we don’t really have any open spaces mid-term.”  Leonard hadn’t known that.  “And though her story is tragic and what you’ve done for her admirable- her test scores on the entrance exam simply aren’t high enough to warrant her a position at this school.”  
  
Leonard regretted not hiring someone to hack the school’s computer systems.  “Mr. Prik-”  
  
“Blake.  Please call me Blake.”  
  
“Blake, as you know Faith is attending one of the worst schools in the city and, in spite of all that, still managed to test high on the state’s standards tests.”  Here Leonard laid it on a bit thick, “And I’m sure with the vastly superior education she will receive from _your_ school and my personal guarantee that she will get up to speed quickly, Faith will be an invaluable addition to the Bovine family.”  
  
Blake readjusted his glasses and leaned towards him, shoving his face into Leonard’s personal space and making him uneasy.  “Well, there is one thing you could do for me that would go a long way in helping me to overlook certain shortfalls in Faith’s application.”  
  
Ah, so the man wanted a bribe.  Leonard was back in familiar territory.  “And what would that be?”  
  
Blake ran his tongue over his lips and traced Leonard’s jawline with his index finger.  Leonard jerked back in his chair.  “What. The Hell. Do you want?” he ground out, teeth clenched.  
  
Blake leaned back against his desk.  “Come now, Len.  With a face like yours, surely it’s not the first time anyone’s propositioned you?  And according to Faith’s application, you’re single so it’s not like you’re cheating on anyone,” Blake said with a smug grin.  He reached out to Leonard again, forcibly cupping his chin, and ran his thumb over Leonard’s bottom lip.  Leonard fought the urge to break his wrist.  “You blow me right here and right now and I’ll mark Faith’s application as _In Review_.  Do a good enough job and you can meet me back here same time next week for the next few weeks and do your very best to convince me to change her application to _Accepted_.”  
  
Blake was a reasonably attractive man.  Leonard figured he got off on approving or denying the applications of hopeful parents such as himself.  But it had been nearly 20 years since Leonard had been in such a desperate position where he was willing to get on his knees in order to get what he wanted.  Back then, he hadn’t been as strong and confident as he was now and there was no way in hell that some prep school flunky was going to make him feel like a piece of meat.  A maniacal grin was the only warning Blake got before Leonard, in one swift move, had the man pinned over his desk with his own tie stuffed in his mouth.  Leonard contained both of Blake’s wrists in one hand, freeing up his other hand to grab a very conveniently placed letter opener.  The man started whimpering and begging through the gag.  
  
“You’d be surprised what kinds of skills rare antiquities dealers pick up on the job.”  Leonard started tracing abstract patterns on Blake’s shirt with the letter opener.  “For example, I’ve spent some time in Lian Yu.  You may have heard of it?  In the North China Sea?  They grow some very interesting herbs there- herbs which will destroy your mind.  I just so happen to have some of those herbs in my pocket.”  Blake tried to scream unsuccessfully through the gag.  “It would be a pity to have all six of those degrees you have go to waste, now wouldn’t it?”  Blake fervently shook his head.  “I thought you’d see it my way.  So here’s what we’re going to do.  You’re going to magically find a spot for Faith Evans and process all of the needed paperwork right now.” 

*****

Faith settled into school fairly quickly.  She was making new friends and had been invited to a slumber party after school the next day.  Her Advisor, and it did amaze him that 3rd graders had advisors at McFeely, was thankfully a very sharp and very wise middle-aged woman who really did want the best for Faith.  She had been pleasantly surprised by Faith’s proficiency in Math but, despite Faith’s wide ranging and rather colorful vocabulary, her reading comprehension was well below grade-level.  So Leonard took her to the children’s section of the Central City Public Library where they had a rather memorable argument over the importance of reading.  
  
“What about this one?”  Leonard waved Patricia C. Wrede’s _Dealing with Dragons_ at her.  “Look- it’s got a dragon on the front.  They’re a kind of dinosaur, aren’t they?”  
  
Faith had her arms crossed and was not impressed.  She had a pile of non-fiction dinosaur books in front of her- none of which she would be able to read.  Thumbing through the books the children’s librarian had suggested, Leonard found something that he thought would peak Faith’s interest.  “What about this one?” he handed _Dinotopia_ to her.  
  
She eagerly accepted it from him and started flipping through the pages.  Her enthusiasm quickly diminished though and she frowned and pushed the book back towards him.  
  
“What’s wrong?” inquired Leonard.  “I thought for sure that one would be up your alley.”  
  
“The words are too big.  I’ll never be able to read it.”  
  
“What if I read it to you?” offered Leonard.  
  
She pulled the book closer to her.  “Fine, but you have to explain the big words to me.”  
  
“I will.”  Despite Leonard’s best efforts, they left with only 8 books- including _Dinotopia_.  On the way back to the car, Faith voiced her protest to the general enterprise of reading.  
  
“I don’t see why I need to read.  _Everyone_ knows that math and sciences are way more important.”  
  
Leonard buckled her in the backseat of the car and looked her in the eye.  “If you can read, you can teach yourself anything.  Including math and science.”  She started to argue but he interrupted her.  “Faith, I didn’t graduate high school.  But I was always a big reader.  I’ve been able to teach myself many things simply because I had access to books or the internet and was able to understand what I was reading.  Therefore, reading is as important if not more important than math.  You understand?”  
  
Exasperated she blew her hair out of her eyes.  “Fine.  You just volunteered to read to me before bedtime every night.”  
  
Leonard smiled.  “It would be my pleasure”

*****

Leonard finished putting Faith’s lunch together for the next day and put her Stegosaurus lunch bag in the refrigerator.  They had finished two chapters of _Dinotopia_ before Leonard finally made her go to bed.  She had become invested in the story and wanted him to keep going.  Chores done he settled on his living room couch to do some reading of his own.  Everything he had told Faith at the library about his feelings towards reading had been correct.  The book that he had picked up at the library for himself was about the _Fermi Paradox_ , which attempted to explain the contradiction between the absence of evidence to support the existence of alien lifeforms and the high statistical probability that intelligent life did exist elsewhere in the universe.  It was something that he was genuinely curious about.  If it were statistically unlikely that humans were the only intelligent lifeforms in the universe, then how come we haven’t encountered any aliens?  Or were these aliens, as the conspiracy theorists claimed, already among us?  The book he had checked out at the library claimed to address these issues.  He was half-way through the first chapter, totally engrossed, when he heard a scream come from Faith’s bedroom.  Leonard had invested in state of the art security for his apartment but nonetheless he rushed to her room only to find her fighting her blankets, clearly in the grip of a nightmare.  
  
“Noooooo…..” she wailed.  “Daddy!  Don’t leave me!  Please!”  
  
Leonard gathered her in his arms and tried to calm her.  “Shhhhhh….sweetheart.  I’ve got you.”  She hadn’t woken up, so he continued to rock her back and forth until she stopped sniffling and settled back to sleep.  Leonard, fighting back his own tears, arranged her limbs back underneath the blanket.  He head back to the living room, book forgotten, and put his head in his hands.  The last time he felt this powerless was when his father had hurt Lisa so bad she required stitches.  She had been the same age as Faith.  That was when he stopped doing small jobs for Lewis and graduated to the big leagues- from that point onward he had vowed to take care of Lisa no matter what it cost him.  Of course, Lisa’s situation hadn’t been his fault- but Faith’s most certainly was.  And now here he was, almost 20 years later, with the frightening realization that taking proper care of Faith was mutually exclusive with being a criminal.


	5. Chapter 5

If Faith had remembered her nightmare, she didn’t show it the next day.  It was Friday and she was very excited to attend her first slumber party after school.  Leonard planned to use his 1.5 days of freedom to dismantle his criminal empire, or at least get a good start.  After he dropped her off at school he spent the entire day gathering all of the titles to his safe houses, bank account numbers, storage units, legal and illegal weaponry, and documentation for his various aliases.  It would take months, possibly even years, to completely unwind everything and legally consolidate his assets but at least he had a better idea of how he would need to “structure” his income before he filed his taxes.  The most difficult challenge would be unloading all of the “hot” property he had accumulated over the years and had been unable to fence- like Edvard Much’s _The Scream._   Perhaps he could put it in his bedroom?  It wasn’t like he had guests over and only a few people would suspect that it was an original and not a copy.  He had always liked that painting.

Exhausted, Leonard tidied up the stacks of papers he had strewn across his dining room table.  He was still haunted by the previous night’s events.  Faith had been _terrified_ and he felt helpless and guilty- both of which were relatively new emotions for him.  He looked out at the city skyline and noticed it was dusk.  He hadn’t picked up anyone in a bar in years but he was in dire need of a hard, anonymous fuck.  Grabbing his leather jacket, he headed out to his favorite dive bar- _Saints & Sinner_s _._

*****

Leonard ordered another beer from Linda, the heavily tattooed bartender, and lamented that, for a Friday night, there were few, ok none, pickings at the bar.  He had just completed that thought when he felt someone’s eyes boring into his back.  _Maybe my luck’s just about to change_.  With a hopeful smirk, he turned around only to come face to face with Barry Allen.  _Great, my evening just got worse…._

“Well, if it isn’t the scarlet speedster.”

Barry looked like he wanted to be anywhere than where he was.  “We need to talk.”

“The most frightening sentence in the English language.”  Leonard grabbed his beer and made his way over to the pool tables.  “You want anything?  Beer?  Food?  The pickled eggs here are fantastic.”

“No, I’m good,” Barry responded.  “I need your help with a problem.”

“You must be pretty desperate to request my assistance, but I’ll bite.  What do you need?”

“Help with transporting some people out of the city.”

“How many?” asked Leonard.

“Five.  Five very bad, very angry people who have powers.”

“Powers, huh?  So you, what, want me to protect you from them if anything goes wrong?”  Barry nodded.  “First rule of business: always protect yourself.”  Leonard started to move toward the exit, his night completely ruined.  “I’m not going to help usher _your_ enemies out of town.”

Barry grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving. 

“They’re not just my enemies.  They’re your enemies too.”  Leonard pointedly glared at Barry’s hand on his arm until he hastily removed it. 

“I doubt it.”

“They will destroy Central City,” Barry pleaded.

“Not my problem.”

“You said that you love it here.  That this is your home.” “I do and it is.”

“Well if these people get loose, there won’t be a city left anymore.”

“It’s a compelling argument.”  It really wasn’t but the seeds of how to turn Barry’s desperation into his advantage began to formulate in his mind.  When Leonard had dropped Faith off at school that morning one of the parents had commented on Leonard’s striking similarity to ‘the man Captain something-or-other that was in the news recently’.  “If I’m going to help you out, I’ll need something in return.”

“Like what?”

“My fingerprints, dental records, DNA, criminal records, everything there is in this world relating to Leonard Snart- I want it destroyed.  All of it.  At CCPD, online, everywhere.”

“What?  No!” Barry protested.

“Then I can’t help you.”

Barry’s right hand clenched, unclenched, and then vibrated rapidly.  “Okay, okay.  Fine, I can’t promise I can get everything on the internet but the rest- I’ll do it.  If it’s the only way.”

“Then we have a deal.”

*****

Lisa had been surprised that their latest job would involve teaming up with Flash and friends.  Lenny had told her that in exchange for transporting five meta-humans Barry would erase Leonard Snart from existence, at least as far as official documentation was concerned.  She supposed it was a fair trade- Lenny like to fly beneath the radar and his last few encounters with the Flash had raised his profile considerably.  She got the feeling that he hadn’t wanted to ask for her help but he needed her Class A CDO in order to drive the truck Cisco had procured to transport the meta-humans.  She was usually their getaway driver on jobs anyway so it only made sense to have her drive.  She was really surprised, however, when Lenny told her that they were actually going to do the job.  It was out-of-character for Lenny to aid the police and since Lenny already got what he wanted from the Flash she assumed they would double-cross him.  Lenny was hiding something from her.  She wasn’t sure what but she fully intended to find out.  On the plus side, at least she got to see Cisco again.

After getting briefed on the job by the Flash she, of course, wasted no time in baiting Caitlin.  After Caitlin stormed off, she approached Cisco with a Cheshire grin. 

“Hey Cisco,” she flirtatiously greeted him.

“Hey Captain Cold’s evil sister.”

Ouch.  “Oh, you can’t still be mad at me.  I heard your brother made a full recovery.  I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately.”

“Have you really?” asked Cisco sarcastically.  At her sincere expression, he retaliated with “Well, stop!  This-” he pointed to himself then her, “ain’t gonna happen.”

True.  Even if she weren’t indirectly involved in the torture of his brother, he was on the ‘good guys’ side.  She, on the other hand, was one mishap away from serving 10-15 years in a Federal penitentiary.  With a bitter smile, she replied “I suppose not.  I guess you wouldn’t be caught dead slumming it with me.  See you outside.” 

Unfortunately, Cisco rode shotgun with her in the truck’s cab on the way to the airfield and so they shared an awkward silence for the duration of the trip.  While they waited for the A.R.G.U.S. plane to arrive at the deserted airfield, she struggled to find something to say.

“How come you haven’t given me a codename?  I heard you came up with Captain Cold.  What do you think I should be called?”

“Female inmate.”

“C’mon,” she cajoled, “you can do better than that.  You made my gun, the least you could do is give me a bad-ass alias.”

“Fine.  _Golden Glider_.”

Nice.  “Smart is sexy, Cisco.

*****

Because Leonard was working with amateurs, everything went pear-shaped while they waited for the A.R.G.U.S. plane.  Cisco must have made a miscalculation because the meta-humans regained their powers just as the plane was approaching the runway.  Detective West, of course, blamed Leonard for tampering with the energy damper.  Shawna Baez, the teleporter, had escaped but Leonard figured she probably wouldn’t cause any more trouble.  He had reviewed the rap sheets of each of the meta-humans and her tangles with police were largely the result of having the wrong boyfriend.  Fortunately they were able to re-capture Kyle Nimbus (aka The Mist) and Roy Bivolo (the Rainbow Raider) but he had been forced to kill Jake Simmons (Deathbolt) which, really, was no big loss to society.  More worrisome was that Mark Mardon had escaped, thanks to a thick fog he summoned to the airfield.  Mardon had made a point of threatening him, or least Captain Cold anyway, before he made his escape.  Barry thanked Leonard profusely for saving his life and even Detective West was complimentary of Lisa, whose fast work with a tazer gun incapacitated both Bivolo and Nimbus.

After they loaded the remaining prisoners on the A.R.G.U.S. plane, he had hurriedly left the airfield (ditching Lisa) to pick up Faith from a playdate with her new best friend Vera.  It was past 9pm and he needed to get Faith in bed and he needed to take a hot bath- Mardon had gotten in a few lucky punches and he ached all over.  He was glad that tomorrow was Sunday- Faith would probably drag him to church but at least they had good coffee and pastries after the service.  Mood brightened considerably, he started to turn off the lights in the living room when he heard a notification ping from his mobile phone.  Picking it up, he saw it was an alert from an app that notified concerned citizens when criminals were due to be released from Iron Heights- it was an efficient way for him to keep tabs on his enemies.  _Well, let’s see who won the parole jackpot today_.  It was his father, Lewis Snart.

“Len,” called Faith from her bedroom.  “I’m ready for story time.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there.”

Crap. He had fully expected Lewis to serve at least another year. And he had no doubt that he would be the first person Lewis wanted to talk to when he got out.


	6. Chapter 6

Lisa was really worried.  She hadn’t spoken to Lenny in over a week.  He wasn’t answering her phone calls and Mick didn’t know where he was either.  The last time he had gone radio-silent she eventually found him holed up in a Canadian hospital recovering from gunshot wounds earned on a job that went south.  If he were in any kind of trouble, she would unfortunately be the last to know.  While stopped at a red light she spotted a coffee shop, which was a godsend as she hadn’t slept all night and desperately needed some caffeine.  She pulled into an empty parking space and ducked into CC Jitters to grab a cup of coffee.  It was just her luck that she spotted Cisco and Caitlin having coffee with their nerdy-looking friend and some other woman she didn’t recognize.  She never turned down an opportunity to flirt with Cisco so she purchased her coffee and approached the group, purposefully bumping into Cisco.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Cisco said, after she practically ran into him.

“Don’t apologize.  You can bump into me any day Cisco.”

“Lisa?!  What are you doing here?”  Cisco recovered quickly with “I mean it’s good to see you.  Small world, huh, bumping into you at a coffee shop.”

“Yeah, small world.  Mind if I join you?”  Cisco grabbed a chair from a neighboring table and held it out for her.

“So, what’s uh, what’s uh new?”  Cisco stammered out.

“Have you- have any of you seen my brother around?”

“We don’t exactly hang out,” said the nerdy-looking guy.

Caitlin kicked him.  “We haven’t spoken to him since he, uh, you guys, helped Star Labs out with that job a while back.”  Lisa figured the nerdy-looking guy wasn’t privy to what Caitlin and Cisco did in their spare time.

Lisa sighed.  “Something’s not right with my brother.  I haven’t spoken to him in over a week which wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for all of his other odd behavior.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cisco.

“Well, for starters, he traded in his Ferrari for a BMV SUV!” she exclaimed. 

“It’s not exactly a crime to start driving a different car.  Unless of course he stole the car,” amended Cisco.

“I don’t know about the Ferrari but he definitely bought the SUV.  It still has the dealer’s license plate holder on it.  At least it’s a BMW, which is still a high performance machine, and the color is Ice Blue but it’s sooo not Lenny!  It’s like something a suburban soccer mom would drive.”  Her audience did not appear to be impressed by the significance of this so Lisa elaborated further.  “The last time I spoke to Lenny was over a week ago.  We made plans with Mick to knock over the cashier’s cage at Central City racetrack but then-”

“Does it physically pain your family not to rob people?” interrupted Caitlin.

“The racetrack doesn’t keep a ledger of the serial numbers of the cash they have on hand,” Lisa replied.

“Meaning that no one can track it once it’s in circulation,” interjected the nerdy-looking kid.

“Exactly!”  Seeing that no one else at the table shared her enthusiasm for this revelation, she continued with “What?  I needed some spending money.  Anyhow, Lenny backed out about an hour before we did the job without any explanation.  That wouldn’t be unusual except that-” she looked at Cisco who gave her an encouraging look, “-except that my Father has just been released from Iron Heights and I’m worried that he went after Lenny.”

“Why would your Dad go after your brother?” prompted the woman unknown to Lisa.

“Right before my father got arrested this latest time for counterfeiting money, he and Lenny got into a huge fight.  I don’t know what they argued about but I think it was about me.  Lenny is very protective of me and so my Father threatens me in order to keep Lenny in line.”

“Are you afraid that your father kidnapped your brother?” asked Caitlin incredulously.

“I don’t know.  I can’t find him anywhere and I can’t contact him.”  Lisa turned to Cisco.  “I know you know how to get ahold of the Flash.  Could you ask him to look into it?  I’m very, very concerned,” she pleaded with Cisco.

“Why would the Flash want to help your brother?” asked the nerdy-looking guy.

The stress of the last week must be getting to her as Lisa felt tears well up in her eyes.  “Look, if you’re not going to help me then fine.  But the Flash’s supposed to be one of the good guys and for once, just once, I’d like to be the one to rescue my brother.”

Cisco gave the nerdy-looking guy a death glare and gave her a coffee-stained napkin to wipe away her tears.  “Alright Lisa, let’s go to Star Labs.  I’ll call the Flash.”

*****

The Snart’s family drama was really the least of Barry’s concerns these days- what with Dr. Wells’ revealing himself to be a time-travelling madman named Eobard Thawne and Iris’ and Eddie’s imminent wedding looming- but Barry figured that having Snart owe him one for once would be nice.  Cisco was able to pick up thermal readings emanating from Snart’s cold gun which led him to Snart’s exact location.  Barry, or rather the Flash, found Snart methodically rifling through blueprints in a civil engineering office.  Snart hadn’t seemed to be under any duress when the Flash interrupted him.  He quickly left with Lewis under his own free will- but not before shooting Barry with the cold gun.  After Barry defrosted he ran back to Star Labs to confront Lisa.

“Found your brother.  He was pulling a job.  _With_ your father.”

“What?  No, that’s not possible,” Lisa protested.  “Are you sure it was my Dad?”

Cisco brought up Lewis’ most recent mugshot on the computer monitor.  “Yeah, that’s him.”

“You have to believe me,” Lisa begged.  “Lenny would never willingly work with him.  He’s a bad guy!”

“You are your entire family are criminals.  Why should we trust anything you say?” asked Caitlin.

Lisa paced back and forth for a few seconds and then seemed to come to a decision.  She pulled aside the collar of her shirt, drawing their attention to an ugly and very old scar.  “I didn’t get this being a criminal.  I got this being a daughter.  Lenny dropped out of school when I was 4 so that he could take care of me and Mom.  Dad was in jail, again.  Lenny took whatever job he could to make sure there was food on the table and the heating bill was paid.  When my mother died, Lenny had just turned 18 and was able to convince Child Protective Services that he could take care of me.  When I was 8, my father was released from prison and he came to live with us.  That didn’t last long.  Lenny came home one day to find my Dad high on crack and me crying and bleeding all over the carpet.  Turns out, getting hit with a beer bottle is worse than getting hit with a fist.  He took me to the nearest motel and called CCPD- my father was arrested for possession with intent to distribute and served another few years in jail.  That was the last time I saw him- Lenny’s taken care of me ever since.”  Lisa started to cry again.  She composed herself and angrily looked at the Flash.  “Lenny may be a jerk-brother but he’s the only jerk-brother I’ve got.  He bought my first tampons for chrissakes!  He was there for every milestone, every birthday, every stupid break-up…you get the idea.  If you won’t,” here she hiccupped, “if you won’t help me-”

Well, this was a surprise.  Snart’s devotion to his sister was obvious and he clearly felt no remorse for his victims but at least now Barry understood what motivated him and what had got him on the path towards being a super-criminal.  “Ok Lisa, I’ll help you.  We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

*****

Before Barry could continue to investigate Snart, he needed to first finish out his shift at CCPD.  Singh wanted him and Eddie to give the rest of the force a briefing on the meta-humans that they knew were on the loose.  Barry made his way to the bull pen to ask Eddie to assist him with the briefing.  Eddie was on the phone arguing with someone (presumably Iris) about the high cost of flowers.  Barry diverted his course to Joe’s desk.  He wasn’t sure where Joe was but they needed to review some lab results together so he sat down to wait for him.  Bored, he sifted through the papers on Joe’s desk looking for anything intriguing when he noticed a little girl of indeterminate ethnicity but indisputably messy pigtails wander into the bullpen.  She was wearing a school uniform, which Barry recognized to be from Bovine Prep (he was still sore about losing the Matheletes Championship to them when he was in high school).  Nobody else had caught sight of her so Barry figured he would introduce himself and find out what she wanted.

“Hi there!”  He bent forward and put his hands on his knees to bring himself to her level. 

She looked down at a business card she held in her hands and then back up at him.  “I’m looking for a Barry Allen, CSI.”

“Well you’re in luck.  That’s me!”

“I’d like to see some identification please.”  Wow, nothing got past kids these days.  He fished out his ID Badge and showed it to her.  She took it from him, turned it over several times and seemed to be trying to determine if it was a forgery.

“I really am Barry Allen.  And I really am a CSI.  What’s your name?”

“Faith.”

“Ok, Faith.  Wanna see my lab?”

This seemed to interest her.  She gave him his badge back and took his hand.  “Do you have a centrifuge?” she asked.

“Of course!  I also have a super-powerful microscope.”

“By ‘super-powerful’ do mean 1000x magnification?”

Ah, a fellow microscope nerd.  “Yes, that is what I meant.  I’m surprised you know that.” 

“I’m a kid, I’m not stupid.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”  He observed her taking in every aspect of the lab and the lab equipment.  “So, do your parents know you’re here?  How did you get my name?”

“Len told me that if I ever needed help and he wasn’t around that I should go to CCPD and ask for Barry Allen.”

“Really?”  Barry only knew one person with that name.  “Len as in Leonard Snart?”

“Yeah except he goes by Smith now.”

“Okay….and you know him how?”

“He’s my foster parent.”

*****

Barry took Faith to Star Labs, which she found even more impressive.  Joe had joined them and Caitlin was showing her some of the lab equipment while Cisco brought Lisa up to speed.

“Hi Faith.  Do you remember me?” asked Joe.

She nodded.  “You came to my apartment to tell me my daddy had died.”

Barry nearly fainted.  “Joe, a word please.”  Barry followed Joe into an adjacent room where Barry’s super-speed treadmill was kept.  “Is that- is that the daughter of the theater usher Snart killed?”

“Yup, I can’t believe it either.”  Joe had his arms crossed and seemed to be deep in thought.

“When Snart told me,” Barry gulped, “that he knew my real identity, I threw her name in his face.  Do you think, do you think I caused this?”

“Bear- you didn’t cause anything.  Leonard Snart is his own man.  Let’s stop speculating and use some detective skills to figure out what is going on.”

They returned to main lab where Caitlin was showing Faith how to make plastic dinosaurs with their 3D printer.  Joe knelt in front of Faith.  “All of us here know who Leonard Snart really is and what he’s done.  I know you know that he killed your father so why are you living with him?” Joe asked her gently but firmly.

Faith seemed irritated that Joe was interrupting the production of her dinosaur family.  “A few weeks ago he visited me at my last foster home.  He apologized to me and said he felt bad for what he had done,” Faith explained.

“And that made it all ok for you?” asked Caitlin incredulously.

“No lady, it didn’t!  I may have forgiven Len but I’ll never forget what he did!  Len offered me a better life than what I would get from the foster system.  He offered me money too but I decided to stay with him because I wanted to torture him a little.  It’s not fair that _only_ my life was ruined so I thought he should suffer too.”

“And…how is it working out?” Cisco tentatively asked.

Faith’s furrowed brow morphed into a huge grin.  “I love living with him,” she emphatically said.  “I mean he is a neat freak and very picky about everything but he reads me stories before bedtime, makes me almond butter and banana sandwiches, and do you see this?!” she pulled on a pigtail.  “Bad hair days are my every day until you find him!  He is a pro at braiding hair!  All of the girls at school are jealous of me.”

Lisa laughed.  “He had a lot of practice with me.”

Faith looked Lisa up and down.  “You must be Aunt Lisa.  Len told me you only wear black.  I didn’t believe him.  I was wrong.”

Joe resumed his earlier line of inquiry.  “Faith, when was the last time you saw Snar- Leonard.”

“He was supposed to meet me at the Central City library after school on Wednesday.  I waited until closing but he didn’t show up so I walked home.”

“Are you sure a little girl like yourself should be out on the streets by herself?” asked Barry.

“Actually, mister, I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea.  But I had no choice!  I’ve managed to fool everyone at school that Len is dropping me off and picking me up but I won’t be able to fool Ms. Rios!”

“Who is Ms. Rios?” asked Joe.

“She’s my social worker.  She likes Len’s cooking so she always schedules her check-in’s at dinner time.  We were supposed to have her over for dinner tomorrow.  If she shows up and Len isn’t there- I’ll be put back into foster care!”  She started to tear up. 

Joe rubbed her shoulders and tried to get her to calm down.  “Faith, don’t worry.  You can stay with me and my own foster son Barry for now.  We’ll just tell Ms. Rios that Snar- _Len_ had a family emergency.”

“Ok, but she’s sharp.  You _can’t_ let on who Len really is, ok?”

*****

After Joe left with Faith, Barry went looking for Snart.  Lisa had been just as surprised by Faith as the rest of them.  Barry wondered what other secrets Snart was keeping from his sister.  The last time he needed to talk to Snart, he had found him at _Saints & Sinners_.  The dive bar was as good a place as any to start…Fortunately, Snart was a creature of habit as Barry found him eating dinner in the dimly-lit bar.  Barry walked up to the booth where Snart was seated and slid into the seat opposite of him.

“Back from the dead so soon, Barry?”

“Faith came by the station today.”  Snart accidentally knocked over the salt shaker.  “She was worried you weren’t going to be able to make your appointment with Ms. Rios.”  Snart looked pained and closed his eyes.  “Don’t worry, Joe will cover for you.  I’ve got her at his house.”  Snart’s jaw clenched and he wouldn’t meet Barry’s eyes.  “She’s not the only one who’s worried.  Your sister has taken up almost permanent residence at Star Labs.  She was the one who asked me to ‘rescue’ you.  Do you need rescuing, Snart?”

“Thank you for taking care of Faith.”

“You and I will talk about Faith once this is all over.  Why are you working with Lewis?”

Snart distractedly played with his French fries.  “Things are….complicated with family.  As you know with your own.”

“Tell me what’s going on.  Please let me help you.”

“Don’t waste your time trying to save people who don’t want to be saved.”

“And what about Faith?”

Snart ignored the question.  “Stay out of this one Barry.”  He stood up and thanked Barry for dinner just as the waitress brought the check.  It looked like Barry was going to have to take a more straightforward approach to find out what Snart was up to.

*****

Leonard was making some adjustments to his cold gun when he realized he was being watched.  “These visits are getting old,” Leonard said, his back to his unwanted visitor.

“Third time’s a charm.”  Barry strolled into view.

“I told you.  I don’t need saving!”

“Too bad.  You’re getting my help whether you want it or not.”

It was unfortunate that Barry wasn’t wearing his speed suit.  Leonard already knew which setting on the cold gun stopped the Flash without doing him any permanent harm.  Leonard was mentally calculating which setting he should use on suit-less Barry when he heard the tell-tale steps of his father approaching. 

“Hope you got that gun of yours ready to blast because-” Lewis abruptly stopped when he caught sight of Barry.  “Who the hell is this?”

“Um, Snar- Lenny said you need a new tech.  Wassup, I’m Sam.”  Barry thrusted his hand in Lewis’s direction.  “Wassup.”  Lewis didn’t shake his hand.

“You’re telling me that this kid can crack a Drakon keypad?” Lewis asked Leonard.  Leonard hoped ‘Sam’ would make a really good impression really fast.

“I did help Snart steal the Khandaq Dynasty Diamond from Central City Museum last year,” boasted ‘Sam’.  “That was locked up behind an AmerTek Industries Phase Three Suppression Door with a Drakon XL-1218 keypad.”

“Couldn’t have done it without him,” Leonard sarcastically said.

“Drakon’s my jam!”

Leonard’s father seemed to buy into Barry’s act.  “Well Sam, let’s get going.”

This put a wrench in Leonard’s plan to finish the job and get Lewis out of his life forever.  Lewis didn’t know about Faith _yet;_ regardless, Leonard needed him gone and retired somewhere far away from Central City.  Leonard agreed to do ‘one more job’ for Lewis so long as he left Lisa out of it and promised to leave Central City as soon as the job was done.  Lewis had come up with a lame-brained scheme to rob a private security firm that provided escrow services for wealthy clients.  Posing as the cleaning crew, they made it to the floor where the diamonds were held largely without incident, thanks to Barry.  Even though Leonard had first-hand experience in working with his father, he couldn’t believe how sloppy he was.  Lewis was an embarrassment to the profession but, despite his father’s best efforts, things were going well.  So Leonard was shocked and dismayed when Lewis shot Barry immediately after he had disabled the Drakon alarm.  Leonard hadn’t seen it coming but he should have- his father was a cruel, selfish man. 

“Ok son, make me proud.”  They had reached the laser-protected hallway where his cold gun would come in handy.

“Like I care.”  Leonard used the gun to freeze the laser beams.  “I told you I had another way past the lasers.”

“Step aside.”  Lewis unpacked his safecracking tools and pulled out a stethoscope.

Leonard looked at his watch.  “You’ve got 125 seconds before the system defrosts.”

“And then what?”

“Sirens.”

“Well then, we better get out of here.”  Lewis had successfully cracked the safe when the Flash decided to appear.  Huh, so the kid was alive.            

“The only place you’re going is back to Iron Heights, Lewis.”

“Do you want to bet?” asked Lewis.

“Yeah, I’ll take that bet.”  Barry directed his attention to Leonard.  “Is this really how you want to play this?  You have people counting on you.”

Lewis whipped around and grabbed Leonard by his overalls, pushing him against the wall.  “If he’s talking about your sister, you had better shoot him now- neither one of you will be safe from ME if you screw this up now.”

Leonard visualized shooting his father with the cold gun, ending his life in one cold blast.  It would almost be too swift a death for Lewis, his tormentor deserved so much more pain.  But he needed to go home to Faith, so instead he hit his father on the temple with the cold gun, knocking him out.  Judging by the proximity of the sirens, the police would be there any minute.

“Go,” Barry said to him.  “Go to Star Labs.  Your sister’s already there, Joe will bring Faith.”

Leonard nodded in understanding and quickly made his escape.

*****

The whole week had been surreal- and without any alternate timelines or visitors from other dimensions no less!  Barry was in line at Jitters to place his coffee order when he saw Snart enter with Faith.  Snart caught sight of him and joined him in line.

“I guess I should buy you a cup of coffee,” Snart offered.

“It really is the least you could do.”

The cashier called them to place their orders.  “The little lady will have hot cocoa with marshmallows,” he then indicated to Barry that he should place his order.

“I’ll have the Flash,” Barry said to the barista.

“What?” asked Snart.

“It’s a drink they made in the Flash’s honor.  For all of the good that he is doing for the city.”

Snart looked skeptical.  “What’s in it?”

“Drip coffee with an extra-strong shot of espresso to keep you running all day long!” interjected the overly perky barista.

Maintaining eye contact with Barry, Snart smirked and said to the barista “I’ll take one.  _On ice_.”  Barry had to hand it to the guy, he was definitely one cool customer.

“You want to join us?” Barry asked.  “Cisco and Lisa are sitting over there in the corner.”

“Sure,” Snart took a seat next to his sister; Faith perched on a loveseat next to them.  Faith handed him her cup of cocoa to from which Snart took a sip.

“Too hot,” said Snart, giving the cup back to her.  “Wait a few more minutes.”

“So Lenny, when do I get to see your new place?  Faith told me all about her room.” 

“Soon.  I’ll have you and Mick over for dinner.”

“What are your plans for today?” asked Cisco.

“We’re going to see the _Spider Pavilion_ at the Natural History Museum!” Faith excitedly said.

“But Lenny, you hate spiders!” said Lisa.

“We made a deal that I get to spend extra time in the _Gem and Mineral_ exhibit as my reward.”

“Well, how about we go with you?” asked Cisco.  “It’s been awhile since I’ve visited that museum.”

“I’m not doing anything today,” Barry offered.

“And I’m certainly not doing anything today,” added Lisa.

They finished their drinks and went to the museum.  The _Spider Pavilion_ , which both Barry and Snart passed on, had timed entry so while they waited they visited the dinosaur wing.  While admiring the velociraptor display, Faith and Cisco got into a lively debate on who would win a fight between King Kong and T-rex.  Lisa won the debate by making a surprisingly good case for Godzilla.  When their ticket numbers were called, Faith went with Cisco and Lisa to see the arachnids and Barry followed Snart to the _Gem and Mineral_ hall.  The room was large and dimly lit, Barry supposed to make it easier for visitors to appreciate the brilliance of the gems.  Barry observed Snart making his way through the exhibit in a methodical and oddly ritualistic fashion.

“You aren’t casing this place, are you?” Barry nervously asked. 

Snart paused his close examination of an 18 carat star ruby to give Barry a withering look.  “I told you, I’ve retired.”

“Just checking.”

Apparently having completed his internal checklist of the room, Snart took a seat on one of the benches facing an enclosed display of meteorites and other space debris.  Barry joined him and they sat in companionable silence.

“I’ve always liked coming here,” Snart shared.  His eyes were unfocused and he seemed to be very relaxed.  “I think this is the closest to meditation that I’ll ever reach.”

“Yeah, I feel that way about the Planetarium.  Maybe you and Faith could come with me some time?”  Leonard grunted non-committedly.  “About Faith-”

“You’re ruining my Zen Barry.”

“Ok, let’s talk about your father.”  Barry couldn’t be sure but Snart looked studiously nonchalant.

“What about him?”

“Joe got an alert this morning from the Prison Warden that he was found bled out in the showers, a shiv sticking out from his neck.”

“Well when it’s your time, it’s your time.”

“And you didn’t have anything to do with accelerating his time on earth?”

“Are you asking me to lie to you or are you being deliberately dense?  Leave it Barry, trust me, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving man.”

“And yet my father just finished serving his 15th year out of a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit,” said Barry bitterly.

“Kid, it’s a cruel world out there.”

Boy wasn’t that the truth?  “What if-” Barry paused, unsure if asking Snart for advice on his current dilemma was wise.  “What if you could go back in time?  Back to before your father got arrested.  Would you do it?  Would you try to stop him?”  Barry now had Snart’s undivided attention. 

“That doesn’t seem like a hypothetical question.  Given all of the crazy stuff happening around here these days, sounds like you’re weighing your options.” 

Barry told him about Eobard impersonating Wells and being trapped in the past as well as Eobard’s offer to help Barry go back in time to stop his mother’s murder so long as he helped Eobard get home.  He also told him about his future with Iris and, in very broad terms, that he had changed the past before but with unintended consequences. Barry noticed that Snart grew increasingly agitated as he recited recent events. 

“So you’re telling me that you have the power to go back in time and change history?”

“And potentially change the future or our present.”

Snart got up and angrily paced in front of the meteorite exhibit.  “Let me get this straight.  You get the chance to save your mother’s life but if you follow through with it there may be _unintended consequences_ but you’re ok with that so long as your Mom’s alive and your Dad’s not in jail?!”  Barry started to protest but Snart continued.  “You do realize that if you do this you are no better than a mass murderer?”

“What?  What do you mean?  I’d be helping people and not just my mother but also Dr. Wells, his wife, and all of the other people that Eobard harmed when the particle accelerator blew up!  I’ll refrain from reminding you about Faith’s father!”

“You just did.  Ok, maybe you’d help those people but what about everybody else?  You do this and I won’t be the same, you won’t be the same, maybe your friends will be your enemies, maybe they will be dead.  You can’t just _erase_ the past Barry!  I am who I am today, for better or for worse, because of my past experiences and I fought hard to get where I am now.  If you wipe all that away, you may as well put a bullet in my brain right now!” 

Snart angrily stormed out of the exhibit hall.  Barry forced himself to slowly follow after Snart, eventually catching up with him in the museum’s conservatory.  Snart was standing in front of an exhibit on carnivorous plants seemingly transfixed by the plight of an insect, caught in a Venus fly trap, writhing in its death throes.

“I never told anyone this,” Snart told Barry, “and, until very recently, I thought I had made it all up.  Now I know that it really did happen.”

“I’m not following.”

“When I was 8, right before my father was arrested for trying to fence the Maximillian Emerald, I think I met myself.  Myself from the future or some alternate universe.”

Barry frowned and considered his own experience as a child.  “It is definitely possible.”

“It was late at night and I was thirsty so I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.  I ran into a man- his face I can’t quite recall.  But I do remember what he said to me.  He told me to take care of myself and to not let anyone hurt me which, honestly, sounds like something I would say to myself as a child.  My father found us and immediately sent me to bed but I could hear them arguing.  The next day my father was arrested and sentenced to prison; I didn’t see him again for five years.  When he got out, he beat me constantly.  He said that the strange man had set him up.  I realize now that that strange man was me.  A ‘me’ from the future trying to make things better for myself but only succeeding in making things worse.”

Barry started to say something but then stopped.  He truly had no rebuttal.

“And what about Iris?  You think you’re doing her any favors by ‘going back in time’ just because you can’t let her go?”

“The newspaper article’s byline-“

“I don’t care what it said Barry!  So maybe you are going to marry her but will she marry you because it was “fated to be” or because you arranged for it to happen?”

Barry didn’t get a chance to respond as Faith, Cisco and Lisa found them in the conservatory.  Snart made some excuse about Faith and him needing to go home.  Lisa took this opportunity to invite herself along to see their home.  Barry was left with Cisco.

“What was that about?” asked Cisco.

“Let’s go to the café and get some coffee.”

*****

Cisco watched Barry absentmindedly pour six packets of sugar into his coffee.  Pre-particle accelerator Barry wasn’t much for sweets.  Post-particle accelerator Barry was all for them.  Cisco watched Barry toy with a 7th sugar packet and so he took the entire tray away from him.

“Wanna tell me what happened with you and Captain Cold?”

“He told me that when he was a kid he met a future version of himself.”

“Woah, what a trip.”

“Apparently his future self tried to warn off his Dad from stealing the Maximillian Emerald but he was unsuccessful.  His Dad ended up going to jail anyway and Snart grew up in an abusive household.  Only now, Snart thinks that his future self made things worse for him by trying to interfere with the past.”

“Ouch.  Kind of puts a damper on you going back in time to prevent your mother’s murder, doesn’t it?”

“He said if I went back in time and saved Mom, I would also be a mass-murderer.  Sounds ridiculous but in a way he’s right.  If I make changes to the timeline, not only will _I_ be a different person but so will Joe and Iris and possibly even you and Caitlin.”

“Yeah, but we’ll all be alive.”

“Will we?” asked Barry.

“Point made.”  Cisco was beginning to feel uneasy.  Sure, it sounded wonderful that Barry could save his Mom, save Dr. Wells, heck save all of the meta-humans created by the particle accelerator.  But it was also possible that Barry would then never become the Flash and Cisco would never meet Lisa (who, incidentally, invited him to go see the original _Dawn of the Dead_ with her next week).

“I also told him about Gideon and the newspaper byline showing that Iris was married to me in 2024.  He accused me of meddling with her life and manipulating the future to suit my own selfish needs.  Cisco, what if he’s right?  What if I’m making things worse by playing into Eobard’s hands?”

Cisco had shredded an entire paper napkin while they talked and paper snow covered their table.  He started to make snow angels in it with his coffee stirrer.  “Barry, I really hate to bring this up but have you noticed that Eobard, the _real_ Eobard, really looks like Eddie?”

“Of course he looks like Eddie!  Why wouldn’t he?  He’s Eobard’s great-great-whatever grandfather.”

“Yeah but have you noticed that Eobard’s really, really white?”

“Are you saying that the reason the timeline hasn’t changed is because the point at which I change the future hasn’t yet happened, but when it does I make a choice that results in Iris ending up with me and not Eddie?”

“You really do have a one-track mind.  What I’m saying is regardless of what you do or don’t do, if Iris marries Eddie then there likely won’t be an Eobard Thawne!  Or at least the one we have the misfortune of knowing!”

“But when I went back in time to prevent the destruction of Central City Iris confessed her feelings to me!”

“Yeah, in _that_ timeline.  You’ve already altered the future by going back in time once- thanks for that since you indirectly saved my life.  Things are different now.  Who’s to say what will be different if you go back in time again to save your mother?  You know, I never thought I’d say this but Snart is right.  You meddling with the timeline _is_ playing with people’s lives.”  Cisco gathered up his snow mess into an empty cup and stood up.

“Cisco wait-”

“I’m _Team Free_ _Will_ Barry.  You better think about what you’re going to do.”


End file.
